Reviews with content warning for Bullying - Klara y el Sol

Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Klara y el Sol by Kazuo Ishiguro

44 reviews

nikexistiertnik's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

i just loved klara's pov and getting to know the world through her eyes. the description of her vision being separated into boxes tended to confuse me at times, but other than that, i enjoyed the writing a lot and i am particularly in love with the way this dystopian world doesn't get overexplained to the reader - we only know as much as klara does, and learn it at her pace.

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lily_kruse's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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krys_kilz's review against another edition

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reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book was a very slow read for me. So much of the world building was left shrouded in mystery and the dystopian elements of the story were mostly mentioned in passing while never fully explained. This did help create a general sense of unease and tension that kept me invested, but there was simultaneously frustration that I was unable to fully know what was going on.

The strongest part of the book for me was the narrator. Klara was a wholly original and unique voice and her observations about human behavior, emotion, and loneliness were uncanny. I found her quite endearing by the end.

I like the framing of this story as a parable about parenthood. It's deceptively simple and achingly real.

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miarose_'s review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Hopeful. Unexpected. Unique.

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bisexualwentworth's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Of the three Kazuo Ishiguro books I’ve read, this is the only one with anything resembling a happy ending. It was also emotionally devastating, and I may be recovering from it for some time.

This book has so many conceptual layers, and I’m not sure I understand any of them. I may need to read some analyses to feel like I really get all of what was going on.

If you’re looking for a weird, sweet, high-concept novel with a fascinating AI narrator who is equal parts intelligent and naive, I highly recommend Klara and the Sun. If sick kids or artificial intelligence or genetic enhancement are triggers for you, you might want to give it a miss.

Honestly, I kind of feel like this book exists in the same conceptual space as Never Let Me Go, so I will definitely be thinking about potential links between the two for a while.

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nialiversuch's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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franzi_'s review against another edition

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hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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galexy_brain's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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mar's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

sure i enjoyed this book but all i can think of is what would've happened if The Big Plot Twist at the 2/3 point was actually carried through... like,

yes, i was rooting for the kid to live,

but at the same time the author introduced a possible path that was SO bone-chilling and tragic and interesting that i was kind of disappointed to not see it explored yknow

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scruffie's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I've always liked Ishiguro's writing style and in my opinion this book was, once again, very well-written; I really enjoyed reading every single page of it. The themes of classism and identity persist throughout the entire book, tying into the book's dystopian setting which is slowly explained. If I had one complaint it would be that the world-building wasn't as elaborate as I would have liked.

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